Bankruptcy trustees get first pay raise in 31 years

What it does

This law doubles what Chapter 7 trustees earn per case. The raise goes from $60 to $120. It is the first raise since 1994. The law extends temporary bankruptcy judge jobs from 5 to 10 years. Money comes from how bankruptcy fees are split among courts, the U.S. Trustee System, and the Treasury. Courts can still waive fees for people who cannot pay.

Who it affects

Bankruptcy filers and creditors benefit from better-paid trustees. Low-income people filing for bankruptcy keep the right to have fees waived.

One thing to notice

The pay raise is the first in 31 years. The law uses existing fees to pay for it, not new taxes.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 2 Republicans, 1 Democrats.

• Dec 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Dec 10, 2025 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed/agreed to in Senate: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed…”
• Jan 12, 2026 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H627)”
• Jan 12, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Cline moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”
• Feb 3, 2026 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
• Feb 6, 2026 — Signed into law · Congress.gov: “Became Public Law No: 119-76”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 1 reports from Jun 2026 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $20,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 4 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 0% of bills with any report.

Christopher Coons, who sponsored the bill, received $1,440,800 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees — $20,000 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• Chapter 7 — A legal process where a person's debts are erased or paid from sold assets.
• U.S. Trustee System — The government office that oversees bankruptcy cases and trustees.
• waive fees — Let someone skip paying court costs because they cannot afford them.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.